


three.

by koganegawas



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 12:51:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6611305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koganegawas/pseuds/koganegawas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>dan is told that he needs three loving touches. he also knows that there are artificial lights everywhere but real stars if you look hard enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	three.

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: okay so the three touches thing is based off of a percy jackson fic that i read a really long time ago, so it's not my original idea. however, the plot for my story is completely different. also, the artificial lights/real stars thing was based off of someone else's idea from a phanfic, but i changed it up so its pretty different.
> 
> ok homesizzles get ready for a bad phanfic!!!!
> 
> i wrote this on the bus on the way home from school hahah, so it's probably really bad n stuff but! oh well.
> 
> warnings: like one swear word, really mild smut (like barely even anything), mentions of drinking, mention of depression and anxiety.
> 
> \---

Dan gathers up the energy to turn his body around, face in the plain white pillow beneath him. It smells like cleanliness, like detergent and the doctors office. Everything here is scrubbed clean and whitewashed. He would do anything for a splash of color, bright blue or muted red or neon green.

Dan's mind wanders to class, health class. The teacher, with her greying hair and gold rimmed glasses, had been talking about emotions. Love, to be more specific.

He was a stranger to love. His parents had cast him to the curb, five hundred miles away to a "private school", words laced with honey which actually described an institute for teens with mental illness.

Dan was diagnosed with depression and anxiety at age twelve, when his parents starting fighting and he just couldn't take it. His parents had no time for him anymore, so he was sent to this hellhole.

"Love, is the strongest emotion that humankind has ever known. It is the feeling of bliss and happiness. With love, is kindness. Now, everyday, a human needs three touches that show love and kindness to be able to function well emotionally."

Three touches, Dan had scoffed in his mind. He didn't get sweet singsong touches, oh no. He got pushed into lockers and locked in closets for hours. He got bruises and scars. He got tormented.

No one had ever shown Dan love.

He snaps back to reality, refusing to cry, brushing his fingers around the bruises on his legs. He looks out the tiny window next to his bed into the darkness of the night. Since the "private school" is so isolated from the world, the stars can show their power without the city lights outshining them and their true beauty.

Dan supposes that the world is like this. While there are brighter, artificial lights outshining, the real, beautiful ones are left behind.

Dan can smile and he can laugh, too. He deserves those three loving touches. And he thinks that he might be like a star, behind but not any less. It is in these rare moments where he feels confident and worth it.

He gives himself a hug.

One, he counts in his head.

And another.

Two, that is.

And one final one.

Three.

Dan falls asleep with the stars above.

-

When Dan first meets Phil, he feels like his life is finally turning around.

Phil is everything that Dan could dream of. He is bright eyes and dark hair and laughs and coffee and chocolate and, dare Dan say it, love.

They click like a puzzle, light and dark, blue and brown.

The night that Dan escapes from the "private school" is a beautiful one. The stars are just as bright and the pine trees nearby bring a pleasant scent surrounding him.

He goes to Phil's apartment in the city, and he can't see the stars but that's okay because he has Phil and that's enough for him.

They spend the night laying on Phil's old couch watching movies until two in the morning. Legs tangled in the blankets, hands intertwined, it could be a cheesy romance movie scene.

And Phil's eyes are on him and they lean in for a kiss.

It's sweet and soft and everything Dan could want. Phil's lips are soft and he tastes like chocolate and coffee and sweetness.

Dan flits back to that health class seemingly a long time ago. A human needed 3 loving and kind touches.

One, Dan counted in his head.

Phil backs out of the kiss and looks at Dan, eyes shining, a contrast to the black of the night. The TV's blue light reflects off of him and he looks so beautiful, not like an artificial street light but a true, shining star.

They lean into each other. Phil's warm and feels so familiar. He's not like the too-clean pillows and the bleached walls, but colorful and full of life and just so real.

Two, counts the little voice in Dan's mind.

Phil runs his hand through Dan's hair, and even though it tangles, it's perfect at the same time.

Three.

They fall asleep together, still tangled and completely in love, under the artificial lights but also the real beautiful stars.

So maybe love wasn't so unfamiliar to Dan anymore.

-

Dan can announce that he's engaged to Phil.

They turned from a teenage couple eating chocolate until they were about to throw up and playing Mario Kart until one of them fell asleep to a real couple with a flat in London and cooking together and going shopping for gifts together and it was all so perfect.

Phil is still so real. He still has his bright eyes and dark hair and he still loves chocolate and coffee but now he steals Dan's cereal in the morning and messes up Dan's hair on purpose and spills his drinks on the floor and breaks dishes and he's still so real.

The night that they got engaged, they were on a vacation in Hawaii. The hotel they were staying at had a perfect view of the beach, and it was dark but the lights in the sand lit the water up enough to see it.

They could see the stars because there weren't many artificial lights to dull it down. And Phil got Dan a ring and they kissed again and again and again.

They had lay in the bed, big enough for both of them.

They both had some drinks earlier and were a bit buzzed and maybe that's the reason why Dan had said, "You know, a long time ago, my health teacher said that everyone needed three loving touches. And that night I gave myself three. When I met you, I got three from you. And I counted in my head. Phil, oh god, I love you so much. And your three touches."

Phil was silent for a moment, but then smiled and leaned in closer to Dan. "I should give you three now, too"

They had a real, long kiss. It was just as sweet and soft as the first time, and Phil still tasted like chocolate and coffee and everything nice.

"That's one", Phil says after they break apart.

Dan giggled, because he could do that now.

He wasn't sad anymore. He had everything to live for.

Phil got on top of him, grinding into him slowly.

"Is this two?", Phil asked between a moan.

"Oh, yeah, fuck, Phil"

He removed his shirt and Phil followed, kissing the whole time. They stripped and were still laying on the bed, smiling and laughing.

Phil was above him and Dan moaned again and he just loved it.

They kiss again, but this time it's different. It's full of lust and desperation.

"Three", Phil said.

"Three", Dan replied.

That was one of the best nights of Dan's life.

Back in London, there were so many artificial lights and the real ones were hidden behind.

But that was okay because he was a real star and so was Phil and he got three touches everyday and he was so happy. And in love.

So Dan definitely wasn't a stranger to love anymore.

Dan falls asleep with the artificial lights above him but also the real ones behind and Phil in his arms and three gentle, loving, kind touches.


End file.
